


Reunion

by wanttoflyhigh



Series: Kingdom Hearts: Second Dawn [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comedy, Drama, Gen, M/M, Possession, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-21 22:23:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14294751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanttoflyhigh/pseuds/wanttoflyhigh
Summary: After what happened, there is a delicate balance to be held. It depends on those involved whether or not it will be broken.





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> It's my birthday today and what better way to celebrate than with an update of fanfic. Wow, this'll actually be the first time I've managed to make a second entry into a fanfic series I've made! Hope you guys like it. :)

_You know, it's not as easy as people say to do things by trial and error._

_Wait... If you understand me a little more,_

_There will be better **rainfall**._

 

 

Isa isn’t expecting things to be peachy when they return, because besides all of the things he’s done to Lea’s allies and friends, he had _just_ basically run in and kidnapped the red head. This was also done right in front of said people, to make matters worse. The blue-haired male also thought it was ingenious to have them stay in a place many had been too often but wouldn’t think – or have time to – look. It seemed that part had worked out okay, minus the few run-ins with _them_. One run-in that, now he thinks about it, he’s forgotten to tell Lea about.

 

Well, maybe he’ll get a chance later.

 

When the two arrive, it’s practically pandemonium, and Isa’s hand tightened its hold on Lea’s in a death grip.

 

Sora and Ventus had immediately asked if the red head was okay, while the brunette was eying the bluenette distrustfully. He had every right to, considering the part he’s played.

 

Sora’s gaze wasn’t the only unfriendly one, however. There was Riku amongst them as well, and a few other members of their motley crew. Donald piped up, suddenly saying, “Let me at ‘im!”

 

The white-haired male suddenly spoke up, saying, “Wait. Let’s listen to what they have to say first.”

 

The murmurs in the group settled down.

 

Well, maybe they were agreeable because Lea had brought Isa when everyone was eating dinner in the castle and it would’ve been a damned shame for all that food to go to waste. The red head said, “So, guys. I know you know that I know Isa was with you-know-who for some time. By the way, Isa’s his real name, not Saix.

 

Anyway, as I was saying… he’s no longer with them. Tada!”

 

The red-haired male then let go of the bluenette’s hand only to gesture with both of his own at Isa like he was showing him off to a crowd of photographers or something ridiculous. Isa, who had felt himself gripped with anxiety and felt like the ground was going to swallow him up, started to now feel incredibly embarrassed. He also felt like whacking his best friend upside the head because seriously.

 

Ventus was the one who spoke up first, and said with a bright smile, “That’s great! It’s been aw—”

 

A male with short blond hair and a short temper looked on – his name was Cid and he usually had something to say when he had an opinion. Maybe that made it less of a surprise when he cut in rudely, saying, “Oi, wait a damned minute! How do we know this ain’t some kinda trick!”

 

Leon said, “He has a point. It’s strange for him to kidnap one of our own and then suddenly bring one back, claiming to be reformed. What’s the catch?”

 

Mickey then asked, “Why don’t we just have him come along? Wouldn’t it be easier to keep an eye on him that way?”

 

A woman with short black hair and in a headband leaned back in her chair and said, “I dunno! Something stinks!”

 

The murmurs started once more. Isa said snidely, “I don’t really care about what any of you think. But the fact remains that if I were with Xehanort, Lea wouldn’t be standing here _alive_ and coherent with the rest of you right now.”

 

It suddenly fell silent. Lea said, “Jeez, way to kill the mood.”

 

Isa rolled his eyes and replied, “There wasn’t much of one.”

 

“Yeah there was.”

 

“No there wasn’t.”

 

“Yeah huh.”

 

“N—”

 

Isa paused, realizing what he was about to say. There was a snort from Riku and when everyone turned to look at him he suddenly had a serious look, but it looked really plastered on. The bluenette rubbed his temples and said, “Lea, we are _not_ doing this right now.”

 

Lea grinned and asked, “What do you mean?”

 

Isa whacked him on the shoulder and Lea nudged him back. This is not how the bluenette hoped it’d go. He was embarrassing himself in front of these people and it’d make it hard for them to take him seriously or believe him. Just great.

 

The short-haired blond with googles snorted and said, “Maybe we should keep ‘im around if he’s gonna insist. Would be a good way to watch him, like the mouse said.”

 

With that being a good reason to keep Isa with Lea, the group suddenly decided to allow for him to stay. As they were eating, however, a certain blue-haired woman kept quiet. This time it was Ventus who asked, “Is something wrong Aqua?”

 

She then put on a smile and replied, “No. It’ll be fine.”

 

Ventus frowned and said, “…If you want to talk about it later, I’ll be around. I promise.”

 

Aqua felt herself still, but she did appreciate the offer. “Thank you, Ven.”

…

 

Isa had made his way into the castle’s halls because he wanted to see what Radiant Garden looked like now – he knew that they had made more progress in restoring the world, but it was better to see what his home looked like now with his own eyes. Lea said he’d catch up with him later and that was fine with the blue-haired man. It wasn’t like he was going to die if he wasn’t attached to his hip all the time.

 

Though a small, whiny part of him did insist that he would, another larger portion insisted that he could at least take care of himself. He wasn’t the type of person to be dependent.

 

“Wait!”

 

Isa heard someone’s younger voice call out; he assumed it wasn’t to him and kept walking. There were many things he had yet to see. “I said, wait! Please!”

 

The blue-haired man kept walking still until he heard feet running and someone ostensibly catching up to him. He stopped walking.

 

Great, looks like he was rude without even intending to be. His reputation as a stone cold hearted man of death and destruction has likely been reinforced by now. The comparison came to Isa’s mind in a sardonic fashion, and he faced the person who had been trying to get his attention. He…actually recognized them too.

 

Short blond hair and bright blue eyes, but with complex wear that was definitely different from Roxas’. It was Ventus; the male looked up at him and gave a small smile. “…It’s been awhile since we’ve spoken.”

 

Isa said flatly, “Why you’d want to speak to me is a mystery.”

 

Ventus replied, “Because … we spoke to each other back then.”

 

The blue-haired male then muttered, “And?”

 

The blond stubbornly continued, “And…we’re friends.”

 

Isa opened his mouth and then closed it. Ventus continued as he said, “Remember? We shared a good laugh together back then. All three of us.”

 

The blue-haired man recalled how stupid Lea acted when he was messing around with the blond-haired boy and almost smiled to himself. It was just…so _stupid_. Yeah.

 

Quickly he turned his head away because he wasn’t about to agree, and he didn’t want the blond to insist he was right because of it. Logically, they had only spoken to each other for a few hours back then as well. But it was too late. Ventus had already seen the expression the other male had attempted to obscure. “See?”

 

Isa shook his head. “If you want to really bother keeping up that status quo, then fine, but it’s on you. Don’t go crying to me when you regret it.”

 

“I won’t.”

 

Isa didn’t look back over until Ventus said, “And I’m glad both you and Lea wound up okay.”

 

Before Isa could say anything to that, Ventus ran off. Isa sighed to himself, but then went ahead.

 

…

 

Lea stretched as he was walking out of the dining hall, and then he found himself suddenly approached by Aqua, who was wearing a grim face. He could only think, _Uh-oh_.

 

She didn’t look at him exactly yet, taking a glance over at a vase of flowers, and then when she did, she asked, “…. Are you sure?”

 

Lea’s carefree expression dropped to resemble something serious. “Of course I am.”

 

Aqua then said, “I wouldn’t be so quick to think that. He’s still in that condition.”

 

The red head replied, a bit annoyed, “I know that.”

 

The blue-haired woman shook her head. “I know you do. But I want you to realize that he could be unpredictable. He might…lose control.

 

Maybe even make you think he’s someone he’s not.”

 

Lea fell silent, and then he asked, “What, are you talking from experience or something?”

 

Aqua sighed and replied, “…Yes. There had been a few times when I thought I was speaking to someone I knew, but it turned out to be someone else instead.”

 

At that, Lea’s expression softened. If anyone would know how to feel about a friend people thought was beyond saving, it’d be Aqua. She seemed to just be honestly worried – and Lea was glad for that. He had expected that maybe she could be judging his decision, but that wasn’t it. The red head then gave her one of his patented sure grins as he said, “Hey, don’t worry too much about it. We’ve got it under control – maybe stuff’s bound to get messy. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to give in – you’re still holding out hope for your friend too, right?”

 

Aqua opened her mouth and then closed it. Then, Lea shook his head and he continued, “To be honest, I was starting to lose hope I’d ever be able to see my best friend again, and then it happened. Obviously, your turn’s coming up soon, and don’t expect me to do anything _too_ stupid. Got it memorized?”

 

The bluenette raised a brow at Lea’s signature line, that is. But, she was smiling. He did good. He heard her say, “Just remember you don’t have to do it alone if either of you two are having trouble. Understand?”

 

Lea replied, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

 

…

 

When Lea caught up with Isa, he saw that the man was staring at the door of their temporary room in the Castle. The red head had insisted that the other male be his roommate – he only even had a room in the building because in case the Keyblade Wielders were needed to meet together they could quickly gather in a place where some of the Restoration Committee was as well. The red head snorted and slipped an arm around the other male’s shoulder, surprising him a bit, and he asked, “What were you waiting for? I gave you an extra key, so you could go in before I caught up with you.”

 

Isa’s eyebrows furrowed, and he said nothing. The red head frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

 

“… When I took a brief walk, I managed to lose the key.”

 

Afterwards, Lea burst into laughter – sure he was rubbing his shoulder since Isa whacked him there right after, but it was totally worth it. The two entered the room and Isa saw that there was only bed. He looked over at Lea, the other male closing the door behind him. When green eyes met golden, Lea couldn’t help but bow and make a gesture to said bed, causing Isa to roll his eyes, and set himself down. His friend followed suit, settling himself beside Isa.

 

Isa then asked, “Did anyone try to convince you to leave me behind?”

 

Lea snorted and said, “Nah. I figure they’ve decided it’s a lost cause. Plus, some of them have seen that you’re not Saix anymore, so it isn’t like everyone’s going to protest you being here. Those that did already had that chance and it didn’t work out.”

 

“Good.”

 

Before Lea knew what was going on, Isa had placed his lips gently on his, and the red head eagerly returned the kiss. Soon, the other male was on his lap, one leg placed on either side of the red head’s as he moved his hips against his. Lea’s hands moved around and upon his friend’s body and he asked, “Were you worried they were going to try something like that?”

 

Isa let out his response in a distracted, soft sigh, “Yes, I was.”

 

There was no point in hiding it. Isa had even imagined that they might’ve been successful. He couldn’t help it, as unfortunate as it was to admit. He discovered his fears were unfounded, however. He heard Lea say firmly, “I’d never let anyone force me to let go of you. I’m not losing you again.”

 

Soon, Isa found that he was lying underneath Lea, and his loose-fitting clothes were being diverged of. He’s never done this with anyone before, but he finds that wanting to do so with Lea felt natural and like he’s wanted to for a long time. Lea must feel the same way, with the eagerness he’s going at it with everything. Though, even as he bites down on his neck, which makes the bluenette moan, Lea pulls back and asks, “Are you sure?”

 

Isa blinked blearily through his admittedly hazy mind. “Yes. If I wasn’t, I’d have punched you in the face by now.”

 

Lea feigned a hurt expression. “Would you really?”

 

Isa scoffed and replied, “If you keep teasing me, I will.”

 

The red head smirked at that and snaked a hand down his body to grip him firmly. After that, Isa’s mind blanked out and he was in a pleasant haze. He was moaning helplessly as Lea stroked him hard and fast – the red head decided to get a better idea and moved himself down to in between the bluenette’s legs. Before Isa could question what he was doing, the red-haired man had taken him in his mouth, making Isa cry out as an explosion of pleasure assaulted him.

 

The feeling of ecstasy rose higher and higher until it came to an apex and it overwhelmed him with a shockwave that seemed to bring on spots of white and then sudden darkness.

 

…

 

Isa sat up in the bed and took a quick glance around. He noted that it was still Ax—Lea’s bed he was in, and that he was practically naked. He puts his head in his hands, noticing the light of the moon filtering through the windows – he hoped he didn’t pass out just from having… _that_ of all things. He also wondered if he had just gotten carried away.

 

Isa noticed soon enough that the red head was sound asleep beside him, snoring lightly and facing in his direction. He wasn’t dressed either.

 

…Not that Isa minded.

 

If anyone had asked Isa if this is what he had planned for him and his best friend to wind up in this type of relationship (whatever it could be called now), he’d have stared them down and answered “no”. Sometimes, Isa had a hard time believing it was real – that he was able to have happy memories with someone he cared about again. He had thought for a time that he had lost Lea forever and he wondered if only desperation ensured that he hadn’t.

 

…Was all of this still desperation too? What he did—

 

“Are you having trouble falling asleep?”

 

Isa nearly jumped in surprise and looked over at Lea, who was now looking at him with eyes half-open and a smirk on his face. Isa then looked away, at the light streaming into the room. He said, “No. I just woke up and was thinking over some matters. First of all…did I really just pass out after we had just begun to—”

 

Lea interrupted with, “Oh hell no. After I got you off the first time, your eyes turned all golden, and then before I knew what was happening I was fucking you and you begged me to go _harder_ until you—”

 

Isa coughed awkwardly, face red. “—I think that’s enough for now. I’d like to be able to clear my head and I realize asking you that question was a mistake.”

 

Lea snorted and said, “Well then besides of all that, obviously you’re thinking too much. Just relax and fall asleep.”

 

Isa gave him an unimpressed look – and now that they were both awake and weren’t fooling around, he did remember something he wanted to talk about him with. “Lea, listen, I…”

 

Lea looked smug and he said, “Yeah, don’t worry. I love you too.”

 

A pause hung in the air as Isa gave him another Look, which made Lea’s smug look disappear and he looked confused as he asked, “What?”

 

Isa replied plainly, “I love you, but you’re an idiot.”

 

Lea’s expression turned into one mimicking a deer in headlights as he asked, “Hey, what was that for?”

 

The blue-haired man smiled a bit. He wasn’t going to lie, when the red head suddenly said those words, he did feel a good amount of warmth in his heart. The man leaned in and said, “Because I was trying to tell you something else. But now that you’ve gone and said that, I’m going to have to hope you don’t freak out.”

 

The red head’s smug expression came back as he shifted so he was holding his head on the palm of his head and the elbow rested on one of the pillows (he had eight of them.) He then said, “Psh, nothing’s going to freak me out. Just try me, Isa.”

 

“Xemnas appeared in the bathroom after I took a shower one of the nights we were in Twilight Town.”

 

“WHAT?!”

 

After that moment, Lea’s expression hardened, and he began to ask, “…He didn’t try to, you know—”

 

Isa shook his head. “No. He’s not that kind of person—the one saving grace in all of this mess.”

 

Lea had sat up now and he looked troubled at hearing that – Isa doesn’t blame him for it. It had troubled him too, and those words Xemnas had uttered…but Isa just shook his head. He won’t be returning to their side, not again, so they meant nothing. That’s right, they…

 

A memory comes into his mind, almost fuzzy, of him moving to stand to his feet. He looked at a male with white-short hair and golden eyes – and there was a Keyblade pointing to him. Whoever was standing next to him, Isa couldn’t recall.

 

_“Yo….Saix….will forever lie in darkness…under my…”_

 

Then there was so much pain, and it was a wonder he had survived that. Sa—Isa’s head began to hurt to excruciating levels, and he was trembling. He wondered what it’d be like to choke the life out of Lea, to make him hurt, and feel the brunt of his betrayal. The thought scared Isa, but he was suddenly trapped in his own mind, feeling as if he was suffocating, and—

 

“Hey, Isa…Isa!”

 

The blue-haired male blinked and saw the worried face of his friend and his lover – the pain in his head had dulled to a phantom throb. The red head looked relieved once he noticed the man had “come back down to earth” so to speak. Then, Lea asked, “…Are you alright?”

 

Isa closed his eyes without saying a word. Then, the male said, “You’re trembling.”

 

Isa couldn’t help but swallow thickly at that, feeling himself become frustrated. He was so messed up; would he ever be free from the shadow of darkness attempting to control him from within? He could escape those men for so long, but their influence – would it be eternal? It felt like something tried infinitely harder to envelope him into the dark and pry him away from reality – from his companion, once more. It’s not like he had much in the first place.

 

Would he lose control and hurt Lea? Would he lose Lea? Was he selfish in wanting to remain by the red head’s side if he was going to be only putting him into danger?

 

Isa asked, his voice choked with emotion, “…Do you believe I can return to normal, even though I’m like this?”

 

As hot tears slipped down the bluenette’s cheeks, Lea leaned forward to press his forehead against his, silencing Isa’s thoughts and fears for but a moment. The red head stared seriously into his eyes said, “Together, we’ll find a way. Get it memorized.”

 

Isa paused at those words, eyebrows furrowing for a bit as if he needed a moment for them to sink in before he smiled a little through the tears, and replied softly, “That sounded so idiotically cheesy.”

 

Lea put on a look of mock offense. “You wound me, Isa. You know how long I’ve waited to say a line like that?”

 

The bluenette rubbed his nose against the red head’s and gave him a quick cheek kiss, saying in a murmur, “Ever since you became my idiot.”

 

The red head gave a mock pout and the bluenette smiled to himself. It was so strange, for a moment he had been panicking and then Lea had brought him out of it. He wondered, after all that had happened, Lea had somehow managed to become his Light. He paused at the thought because it sounded so ridiculous. Isa then said, “Lea, I…”

 

The bluenette paused. This time, Lea patiently waiting, looking at him expectantly. “…I think you might be right.”

 

Lea said, “Finally! Now, c’mon, let’s get some rest. Otherwise it’s going to be hell getting up in the morning.”

 

Isa snorted before he made to settle himself under the covers, going to move so he’s up against the other man, and he can feel the other male slip an arm around him to help hold him close. At that, Isa’s eyes closed, though Lea’s green irises remained open as he looked at his comfortable companion. He was lucky, to be able to even get him back and even wind up with the man by his side, like this. Still, he couldn’t help but blame himself for what had happened.

 

Maybe if he hadn’t been so stupid and more attentive, Isa wouldn’t have gone through so much pain. He promised that he would give it his all to make things right again.

 

…

 

Lea awoke with a start, gasping and full of sweat, and turned to look at his side. He didn’t see a trace of the blue-haired man who had been lying by his side, and he had just been witness to a nightmare that felt as real as day. In it, Isa had left and returned to the side of Xehanort, but he hadn’t explained to him why; the old man had smiled cruelly and informed the red head that Isa had fully surrendered his will as well. Never to return.

 

He called out, “Isa?”

 

After hearing nothing, the red head quickly got out of the bed and began to put on his clothing – a red shirt and tan pants with a tight black leather jacket. He also put on some red shoes and headed towards the door – it was also at this time that he heard the bathroom door within the room open. It stopped Lea full-on and he turned to face Isa, who had his long blue hair balled up in a towel and was wearing a bathrobe; he looked mildly puzzled at the urgency Lea had moved with and asked, “Is something going on?”

 

Lea let out a loud sigh, causing Isa to raise a brow, which disappeared into the towel briefly. The red head then replied, “Nah, it’s nothing. Just me worrying about something stupid.”

 

The red head rubbed the back of his head and sat back down on the bed, trying to ignore the wave of embarrassment that suddenly came over him. It wasn’t honestly unusual to over-worry with what had happened, right? He just couldn’t help it, but all the same, he sure as hell hoped he could avoid telling Isa. Except the man he loved just decided to sit down next to him and wrap his arms around him. “Why don’t you tell me? I don’t care about how _stupid_ it is. I’m used to dealing with idiocy by now; you know this.”

 

Lea snorted. Okay, Isa got him there.

 

The red head relayed to him the dream and he expected Isa to brush it off or affirm that, yes, it was stupid. Which would be totally fine with him – then they could just move forward in their lives. Except Isa planted a kiss on his cheek and said, “I wouldn’t return to that bastard so easily. Nor will I allow him to take me and help him do whatever he pleases. Not anymore.”

 

Lea then replied, “… You know I do believe in you. It’s not – “

 

“I know. But getting yourself to believe deep down it won’t all vanish from underneath you is another thing entirely.”

 

The red head turned to look at Isa’s serious face and then Lea could only smile wryly. “Guess you’d know all about that. Well, I’m sure as hell—”

 

Lea paused, realizing he couldn’t stop nightmares and dreams from being a thing. So, he just decided to amend that with, “Like I said last night, we’re going to find a way and wipe that asshole’s influence from you so clean you’ll be shining like a white dove in the morning.”

 

Isa gave him an incredulous look. “That’s not what you said.”

 

The red head replied, “Close enough.”

 

When the blue-haired man rolled his eyes, his companion could only grin in response.

 

…

 

By the time Isa had been able to leave the room it was noontime, but Lea didn’t mind. He wasn’t a morning person and it took him awhile to actually wake up. He had also taken Isa’s hand when they left the room, and Lea had essentially been wearing the same gear he had dressed up in earlier. Isa, on the other hand, had forgone the robes when he knew everyone had ended up recognizing him _anyway_ despite his best efforts. The blue-haired man’s hair was now up in a wild pony tail of sorts and he wore a black t-shirt with a blue sweatshirt, black pants, and black shoes.

 

They raced against the halls and conferred quickly with everyone to determine there wasn’t any pressing matters at hand as well as no quick solution to Isa’s problem just yet. At least not until the two stepped out of the room; the duo had nearly bumped into a certain short brunette who wielded a keyblade. Said brunette said, “Hey, Axel!

 

Then the brunette gave a pause, looking at the bluenette as he said a bit more slowly, “…And Saix.”

 

Isa took a sharp breath at the name, unconsciously squeezing Lea’s hand so tight the red-haired man thought it’d fall off. Then the bluenette sneered and said, “It’s _Isa_ and _Lea_. Get it right, you in—”

 

Lea interjected, “—got it memorized? Isa really hates it when you call him that so, y’know. I guess I don’t care whichever one you call me, though.”

 

Isa muttered, “You _should_.”

 

Sora nodded and then asked, “So did anyone tell you yet? About the whole plan to remove the part of Xehanort from you and uh…Terra?”

 

Isa looked confused and asked, “Who’s Terra? And no. Tell us.”

 

The brunette nodded and then said, “Terra’s Aqua and Ven’s friend. I never met him personally, but he sounded like a good guy.

 

Anyway, as for the other thing, the first a Keyblade Wielder’s supposed to do a Dive into the Heart – and basically—”

 

Donald and Goofy just came by at that time, and the duck just suddenly jumped into the air, shouting an incomprehensible noise that stopped Sora’s explanation. Donald then exclaimed, “You’re not supposed to tell anyone yet!”

 

Goofy then asked, “But aren’t they on the same side as us now?”

 

Donald face-palmed. “That’s not the point!!”

 

Sora then smiled slightly and looked straight at Isa as he said, “I think it’ll be fine.”

 

The bluenette noticed a shift in the brunette’s tone as he looked at him, and it dulled some of the anger he had felt earlier. It also made him remember some of his actions had adversely affected the boy – of course he would associate him with “Saix”. Isa tried to say something but only managed to stare ineffectually. Pathetic.

 

The brunette then said, “The others are worried about Xehanort’s … uh presence being too overwhelming when we decide to go in and remove that part of him from you two. Or something. Also, it has to be someone close to the affected person. To have a better chance of working, anyway.

 

I get it, but I don’t – people are worried Axel doesn’t have enough training to do anything about it. But! I’m here, so maybe I can help when Merlin’s done teaching him stuff.”

 

Before Isa or Lea could ask anything, a certain white-haired male called out to the brunette, along with a girl with dark red hair. Sora then asked, “Talk again later with you guys?”

 

Lea snapped his fingers and gave a thumbs up. “Yeah, of course. We’ll be around.”

 

Isa nodded, to Lea’s surprise, and then they both watched the three go off elsewhere.

 

As the two began to walk, Lea noticed Isa’s reticence and the way the male’s gaze seemed to appear distant, as if he were in a far-off memory in a hidden dream. However, when he stopped and thought to address it, Isa seemed to suddenly awake, saying, “Lea. Let’s go outside.”

 

They hurriedly passed people, Lea wondering why everyone they had looked a bit surprised before smiling.

 

He didn’t notice their hands were still entwined until they exited the castle’s doors.

 

…

 

They stood on the edge of a cliff, watching some water go right over. Isa and Lea took in a deep breath, looking at their surroundings, and it was even more stunning to be able to take in what had been restored with people you knew. Isa then said, “A-Lea...”

 

Lea asked, “Yeah?”

 

The bluenette asked, “Do they still need help with clean-up here?”

 

The red head shook his head. “The others got that handled, and they’re just about finished. It’s still rough around the edges, but I’d say you arrived at a good time.”

 

“Lea, is it true about what he said? You’re still in training?”

 

The red head nodded. “I just became a Keyblade Wielder recently, so I’ve got a lot of kinks to work out. I’m not the only one, though. Kairi’s training too.

 

It looks like once I get through it and do whatever Sora said that could get that old bastard out of you, everything will be peaches and cream.”

 

Isa then looked off, saying, “Like it’ll be that easy.”

 

“C’mon don’t you know all the hard stuff comes before? Then after I’ve fixed you up everything will be easier.”

 

The blue-haired man rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say.”

 

Lea huffed and replied, “I’m serious!”

 

The two then sat down nearby a tree and Isa felt Lea lay his head against his shoulder. The bluenette closed his eyes, and his companion followed suit, smirking as he did so.

 

Before the both of them knew it, they were out like a light in one of the gardens just outside of the castle.

 

Shortly, footsteps approached them, and they belonged to two people – one blue-haired woman and a shorter, blond-haired male. Aqua shook her head and said, “I can’t believe they pulled a stunt like this. Lea should know how dangerous it is to leave them both so vulnerable in the open.”

 

Ventus smiled brightly and said, “But since you’re here now, Xehanort wouldn’t dare try anything until he’s sure he’d win.”

 

Aqua added, “Don’t forget that it’s because you’re here too.”

 

The blond looked sheepish at that and the two began to chat while also watching over the two, clearly-relaxed duo that had fallen taken an unplanned nap. Isa was the first to awake and he quickly looked around in a bit of surprise, before putting a hand on his face. He heard a certain woman ask, “Did you two get enough rest?”

 

He looked over to see Ventus and Aqua standing nearby the two. Ventus said, “Looks like only one of them is done being a sleepyhead.”

 

At that time, Lea yawned and then Ventus amended, “Okay, I take that back. That’s two.”

 

The red head asked, “Huh? Where’s the fire?”

 

…

 

Isa blamed Lea for what he was stuck in the middle of doing now – if the red head hadn’t fallen asleep at the same time he did, they wouldn’t have gotten forced into “helping out” for a certain task around the castle by Aqua and co. Of course, Isa had hoped to get in some training for the upcoming battles, and he did manage for thirty minutes, but he’d rather still be doing that now instead of…baking pie for Ansem’s birthday. It was so irritating.

 

It was a castle, so didn’t they have enough cooks for this? This was utterly ridiculous and—

 

“You’re doing the thing again.”

 

Isa idly wondered under his breath ‘where that voice was coming from’. He next words were predictably ‘it must have been the wind’.

 

“C’mon Isa, it’s just as your bad as it is mine.”

 

The bluenette proceeded to try to ignore the voice, ESPECIALLY when said voice brought up a very good point. It didn’t work for very long since Lea then decided it’d be a good idea to tackle-hug the brooding man from behind. Isa grumbled underneath his breath, face turning red and naturally Lea thought it was a good time to rub his face against his back. This only made Isa feel even more embarrassed.

 

Isa said, “Fine. You’d be correct in saying we’re both at fault.”

 

Lea laughed and said, “You’re cute when you get like this, Isa.”

 

This time his partner murmured, feeling his face grow hotter, “I’m not ‘cute’.”

 

“Yeah you are.”

 

Isa has had it. It wasn’t _fair_ Lea was coming up on top of this and he was about to turn the tables. He said, “I believe it’s my duty to inform you that you had the most _adorable_ sleeping face I had ever seen.”

 

Lea tore his head away from his back and exclaimed, “What?! But you fell asleep before I did—”

 

“Did you forget the part where we shared a bed last night?”

 

The red head felt his cheeks redden and replied, “Oh. Right.”

 

God, only Isa could make him feel so stupid. In a good, embarrassing way. Well, in other ways too but he liked this the best. It was at this time that the oven made a ‘I’m-done-with-the-pie-noise’. Isa then stated, in a satisfied voice, “I’ve got it.”

 

Then, when Ansem walked into the room, Isa took the pie from Lea’s hands, looking disgruntled but felt as if leaving in the red head’s hands was just asking for trouble. When he went to set it on the table, instead one of his shoes met the legs and he stumbled forward.

 

 _Splat_.

 

Isa didn’t know what expression to make as he looked at the elder blond man, whose face now had pie on it. But…Lea was laughing so hard he fell to the floor, and Ansem looked unamused.

 

 _Of course, something like this had to happen_ , Isa thought, feeling a headache coming on. Oh well, no one could say he had done it on purpose.

 

…Probably.

 

…

 

When they finally made it back to their room, Isa felt tired all over again, practically leaning against Lea on the way there. He didn’t understand it – they hadn’t done much today. It wasn’t getting even that late, and Lea had to even help him into the bed. The male then teased, as he was wont to do. “Wow, Isa, leaving it up to me to take care of you? I didn’t know you’d made your way to royalty status.”

 

Isa said flatly, “And now that you do know, it seems that you’ll have to simply deal with it.”

 

The blue-haired man then snuggled into the blankets and added, “You don’t have to go to bed at the same time as I do, Lea.”

 

“Yeah I do. Otherwise we won’t be awake at the same time and that’ll suck.”

 

Isa yawned, but if he hadn’t he’d have rolled his eyes at the other male’s words. “Suit yourself.”

 

Following that, the bluenette was out like a light. Lea figured the male was just getting used to not being so high-strung all the time so naturally being so tired him out or…something. Well, tomorrow he was going to bug some people about what Sora had told them or figure out a way to do it himself. He’s eager to make sure Isa has no more complications and once they’re in the clear he figures they could party for awhile before they tackle trying to bring down Xehanort.

 

Lea slipped in right beside Isa and snapped his fingers, causing the light to go out.

 

…

 

Isa’s eyes opened, and he sat up in the bed. He looked around to see that Lea wasn’t present – something about it felt _wrong_. Not that it’s supposed to be, because Lea being away for a short while shouldn’t end up an indicator of bad news. Though just to keep himself from being embarrassed from the red-haired male just being up to antics and hiding in the room, he tentatively asked, “Lea?”

 

The blue-haired man removed himself from the bed, made sure he was still wearing clothes (he was) and then peered in the bathroom to make doubly sure the other man wasn’t in the room. He doubled checked both closets to be absolutely sure, however.

 

He frowned and searched for a note, or something Lea would’ve left behind to tell him where he’d gone, and he found none. Well, that’s…fine.

 

Probably.

 

Isa broke free of the room soon after.

 

As he stood in the castle’s halls he noticed it was eerily silent despite being midday. There should be some guards walking around or other people. There wasn’t even the sound of a bird’s chirp and his hearing was rather acute, so he would know.

 

Isa summoned his Claymore and looked around. For a moment he thought he had seen someone, but…

 

He heard nothing, much to his frustration and increasing worry. He came closer towards the room they used for meetings, hearing the ghosts of whispers emanating in that direction. Lucky for him, the door was also open enough for him to see one of the room’s occupants before he even entered – and there was a certain red head talking animatedly. It made Isa sigh with relief and tinge with a slight feeling of annoyance that he’s become used to.

 

He wills away his weapon and steps closer, an admonishment on the tip of his tongue. As he does, he notices someone with him – a certain blond-haired male, whose name wasn’t Ventus. It was Roxas.

 

He remembered he wasn’t quite all that nice to that boy, and now that he’s back, maybe he should—

 

Isa felt himself stop in his steps as Lea’s expression remained bright and animatedly as he took the male’s hand. Something black and ugly welled up inside of him at that. His hands clenched tightly into fists and his expression hardened. “Lea, you couldn’t have told me where you were running off to?”

 

The red head turned to face Isa, along with the blond. Lea looked at him blankly, and it caused the blue-haired man to feel out of sorts. Why was he looking at him like that?

 

Roxas said, “You’re not his keeper, you know.”

 

Isa snapped at him, saying, “If I asked for your opinion, I would’ve let you know.”

 

Then his attention was back on Lea and he asked, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

 

The red head looked away, asking, “Man, what’s there to say? Who cares? It’s not like it took you long to find out where I was anyway.”

 

The bluenette’s eyes were upon the fact they still held hands. He told himself it was normal for friends to do so, but every moment that passed felt like his anger was about to burst out of him. He was almost seeing red, and Roxas looked mostly indifferent to all of this. Then the blond said, “Let’s go, Axel. Can you show me around the castle?”

 

Isa supposed Lea did have a point, however. It didn’t take him long to find him, and he was just overreacting. He took a breath, not wanting to endanger what they had again. But he didn’t want to leave the two alone and he asked, “…Mind if I tag along?”

 

Lea asked, “Don’t you have better things to do than follow me around all the time? We’re not kids anymore, Isa.”

 

Something wasn’t right. The way he was being brushed off like this…it didn’t make any sense. Not after everything—Isa then watched as Roxas nodded and that made him growl low in his throat. He had no place in this. So as far as he was concerned, his opinion wasn’t desired nor was it necessary. The two began to leave and he heard the blond say, “I can’t believe he’s your friend. He’s a jerk, why did you take him back after all he’s done? Why don’t you just…leave him?”

 

In the next moment, Isa felt himself being held back with the blond on the floor, looking at him with surprise.

 

Isa concludes that he must’ve lost his patience at the idea that Roxas could influence his friend – his lover – once more, because he doesn’t remember even making the jump. Lea was giving him a dark look, however, as Aeleus held him back and he said, “I thought you’d changed. It looks like I can’t trust you after all.”

 

Isa’s eyes widened, and he said, “But, I—"

 

“I don’t need you anymore, Isa.”

 

His next words made Isa freeze and he tried to protest but suddenly his voice wouldn’t come out and he felt as if he were being submerged under water. He tried to fight back harder but more people were holding him down, pushing him deeper into the darkness beneath him, which began to swallow him up. His vision began to blur, and his world turned into complete black. He heard a familiar-sounding voice tell him, _It was inevitable. This is what will happen when the boy returns._

_He will tire of you and throw you away. Then no one will have a reason to keep you anywhere except in the Castle’s dungeon to rot._

 

No…he didn’t believe that. Lea wouldn’t leave him behind—

 

An echo of laughter comes across the darkness and it surprised him for only one reason. Was that himself? It sounded like his voice, and again, his own voice comes again in his head, saying, _You’re only deluding yourself. You can be easily replaced; you were before, and it’ll happen again. This “arrangement” with him is only temporary._

 

Isa felt his protests die in his mind. He was afraid that it’d be the case, so of course, why wouldn’t it be true? He’d been left behind before, what would stop it from happening again?

 

He was tired. It felt as if someone was pressing down on him and fighting against the force didn’t feel worth it. His mind felt like it was starting to become blank and he began to forget who he was.

 

The blue-haired man blinked and stared blankly into the expanse of seemingly endless darkness and thought he saw a person coming towards him. He wondered who it was, since he doesn’t recall ever meeting a man with short brown hair and sapphire-colored irises. At first, he thought it might’ve been Xemnas but due to different hair and eye color it was obvious it wasn’t him. The man asked, “Hey, what are you doing in here?”

 

Isa felt the pressure release from him and he felt himself able to think again. He said, “It seems I was fighting against someone’s influence again and lost once more.”

 

He sighed. He was honestly pathetic. He had Lea with him, so why…? Were his doubts so strong?

 

At those questions, he grimaced. Of course they were.

 

The brunette’s eyes seemed to flicker with a sense of understanding and he said, “No you haven’t. If you’d lost, you wouldn’t be able to think for yourself right now.”

 

Isa scoffed as he replied, “I think finding myself in a space full of darkness speaks for itself. The question is how I managed to find myself here with someone else.”

 

The brown-haired man said, “I’m not sure. But, I think you somehow managed to connect to my heart because of your own ties. Do you…know anyone by the name of Xehanort?”

 

Isa raised a brow and asked, “You too?”

 

At this, the other man smiled sadly and said, “Yeah. Me too. I’m not sure how long it’s been since I’ve been free from Xehanort’s influence. I only hope Ven and Aqua are alright.”

 

This person, is this—

 

Isa asked, “Are you Terra?”

 

The brunette looks surprised and then nods. Then a look of urgency crossed his face as he suddenly grabbed the other male by his shoulders and asked, “Do you know Ven and Aqua? Are they alright? Are the—”

 

Then he backed off when he realized what he’s doing before Isa can even register his own surprise. The man deflates soon enough and said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”

 

Isa said, “I’m used to it as I have an idiot of a friend who likes to invade my personal space consistently. That said, what I’ve said doesn’t mean it’s encouragement for you to do the same once again.

 

Ventus is still alive and so is Aqua—the former of the two _insisted_ on trying to befriend me. Likely because we had met a long time ago—about a decade or so, in fact, while I was still young in Radiant Garden.”

 

Terra’s expression dropped into shock. “A…a decade? It’s been that long?”

 

A silence fell between them and then Terra asked, “Why don’t we look around? I’m sure I’ll be able to find a way out of here for you if we search hard enough.”

 

Isa nodded, and then fell into step behind the brunette. It was almost by habit, and it reminded him of when he’d trail Xemnas…and he grimaced at that thought, deciding instead to walk a bit faster so he was by Terra’s side. The brunette noticed and then he asked, “Why don’t you tell me about your friend?”

 

“His name’s Lea and he has red hair the color of flames. When you meet him, you’ll be able to tell who he is because he tends to be loud and he doesn’t know when to shut up.”

 

Isa pauses in his explanation and reiterates, “He’s also an idiot.”

 

Terra snorted, and he asked with a grin, “But you love him, right?”

 

The blue-haired man felt his face color for a moment and was glad that it happened to be so dark. Not that…it stopped the two from being able to see each other for some reason. “…”

 

The brunette laughed a little, and Isa then asked, “Why don’t you tell me more about your so-called ‘friends’ that you love so much?”

 

Terra smiled to himself as he said, “If you’re trying to get back at me for what I said earlier, you’ll find that it won’t work.”

 

Isa’s lips pressed into a firm line that looked like his resting bitch face taken up to eleven. His form of pouting, honestly.

 

Terra then continued, “But, anyway…”

 

…

 

Lea emerged from the bathroom to see that Isa still slept like a baby – not that he minded, of course. It had been ages since he’s seen the man so relaxed, so he let him sleep in. He still contributed the male’s elongated sleep schedule because of the trials he faced as a Nobody. Lord knows he slept however long he wanted when he became Lea again.

 

The red head even left for some late breakfast and returned with every intention of getting the male up should he be still sleeping, however. To his lack of surprise, he found Isa still asleep and went to nudge him, saying, “Alright, rise and shine, Isa.”

 

The man didn’t even so much sniff disdainfully in his direction nor stir. Well, okay, Isa could sleep like an ox sometimes, so he wasn’t surprised. He then unceremoniously pulled the covers off of the male, but he still didn’t wake up. His last resort was sprinkling cold water on his forehead since that never failed to awake him. However, Isa still didn’t stir.

 

Then, Lea’s nonchalance dissipated. Especially when it looked like he wasn’t even breathing. He began to frantically shake Isa, saying, “Hey, hey, wake up! This isn’t funny man!”

 

He checked for a heartbeat and found it very faint. He released a breath of relief and muttered to himself, “Don’t scare me like that.”

 

However, Lea ran out of the room to get the others. He needed more help.

 

…

 

The two continued to walk and it felt as if they were going for ages. Isa sighed and said, “We’re getting nowhere. This is pointless.”

 

Terra asked, “Are you sure? We might find a way out.”

 

Isa gave the brunette an unimpressed look and said flatly, “How you ever retained that optimism is beyond me. I would’ve just been ready to lie down and die already.”

 

At this point, the brunette frowned and replied, “But you have friends waiting for you.”

 

“One friend.”

 

“What about Ven?”

 

Isa scoffed, and he said, “He doesn’t count. He can’t seriously consider me a friend when we’ve spoken less to each other than Lea has with him.”

 

Terra smiled, and he said, “You’d be surprised. He’d consider someone like you a friend in a heartbeat.”

 

The bluenette snapped at him, “Do you even hear yourself speak? It sounds like a bunch of nonsense—”

 

Isa stopped in his admonishment, halting his walk and he looked at the dark expanse before them. “It doesn’t matter anymore…I’ve never been this deep in the darkness before. Even when Xehanort had overtaken my mind – back then things were a blur or at least eventually came back to me. Now…this is different.

 

I don’t know how we’re going to find a way out.”

 

The blue-haired man then quickly added, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving up, it’s just… I don’t know how you can walk around with a smile on your face.”

 

Terra looked at Isa and then back to in front of him, saying, “I can’t help it. Even if it’s been so long, just knowing that my friends are safe and they’re doing alright…it’s made me feel happier than I have in a while.”

 

The brunette stopped walking, causing Isa to stop as well. He saw the brunette’s expression turn unreadable. “It’s given me hope to go on. Even if I’m not sure where I am anymore – we’ll both find a way out of this and return to our friends.”

 

Isa doesn’t think he could be that strong.

 

Even now he had only managed to not succumb to darkness again by a fluke.

 

…

 

Sora said, “Hey, he’ll be okay.”

 

Lea didn’t say anything, still skinning an apple with a knife he snatched from the kitchen as he leaned against the wall in the grand dining room. Isa had been taken to get a look at by Yen Sid to see what had been going on with him, and it seemed that his condition had ended up as “unstable” due to Xehanort’s influence. It had put him in a mood, suffice to say, and around that time he had even lost his shit entirely. Embarrassingly so.

 

He nearly burnt the room down in his frustration in being unable to do anything and found himself banned temporarily from it.

 

The brunette frowned at Lea’s quiescence and the red head said halfheartedly, “I know.”

 

“…You’re going to try to do something about it, aren’t you?”

 

Lea nearly stabbed himself with the knife by accident because he wasn’t paying attention. “What? No. I’m going to wait like the old man said.”

 

_Two hours later…_

 

Lea and Sora stood next to an unconscious Isa, who was placed into a special room in the castle. The door had been locked on the outside and bombarded with magical wards designed to impede anyone trying to get in. Of course, with two keyblades, the door was unlocked rather swiftly. But the red head just decided to kick it in for further measure.

 

“Wow, Axel, was th—"

 

“—EH. Anyway, who cares. More importantly, we need to help out Isa. So, how about you show me how to jump right in?”

 

 _Typical Axel_ , Sora thought but he didn’t mind. He nodded his head and then took out his keyblade, saying, “Let the keyblade guide you for the rest, okay?”

 

Lea summoned his own keyblade and nodded.

 

…

 

“Hey, I think I see something up ahead.”

 

Terra pointed ahead at a spark of light some distance away from them, and it was at this time that Isa released a sigh of relief. He wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, even if he questioned the swift resolution to their issue. He imagined that the brunette was likely overjoyed at the actual prospect of seeing his friends again.

 

No one could deny that the two weren’t eager, especially with the way they hurried their step. Isa asked, “What are you going to do when you see your so-called friends again?”

 

Terra snorted and replied, “I don’t know. Maybe hold onto them really tight and not let go for a few hours. I’m sure they’re going to want to do the same…despite what I’ve…done.”

 

The brunette’s expression suddenly seemed tinted slightly with regret – the first Isa’s seen it – but then it shifts to something more hopeful as they encroach closer on their presumed exit. His dark blue eyes seem to even shine brighter than the blue-haired man’s seen it before.  The brunette asks, “What about you?”

 

Isa said, “I don’t know. I imagine Lea really won’t let me go anywhere by myself for the upcoming month or so. So maybe I’ll brace myself for that.”

 

Even though Isa said that, he was actually smiling a bit to himself. It was easy for the brunette to see and actually caused him to smile as well, before he looked back at what was in front of them.

 

Honestly, Terra didn’t know what to think at first with the other male coming in out of nowhere, but…he thought it didn’t turn out too bad. And soon, he was about to see his friends once more. At the thought, his mind drifts to a distant memory—

 

_The three of them were close together, back on their original home – The Land of Departure. The brunette had just reaffirmed his dream – and the blue-haired woman smiled and said, “Well, you’re not the only one.”_

 

_The brunette replied, “I know. You, me, and Ven all share the same dream.”_

Terra wonders if they still do now – but it doesn’t matter. As long as he gets to see them one more time, he’ll be content with that. Being a Keyblade Master wasn’t as important as being alongside his friends again and he knew if he had to choose between the two, he would choose his friends every time.

 

Then he said, “Ven, Aqua…I’m coming.”

 

Isa felt himself almost become blinded by light as the intensity of the white glow increased – and then it suddenly dimmed enough so he could actually see in front of him.

 

A cold breeze blew at his back, prompting him to turn around. Tendrils of darkness had wrapped around Terra, and the brunette struggled, reaching out with one free hand. The blue-haired man reached out to the other’s hand, and their fingers almost touched—

 

“ _Isa!_ ”

 

A hand reached out from the exit way of pure, white light. Terra’s expression changed into something unreadable, and he pulled his hand away before Isa could grasp his. The blue-haired man’s face turned into one of confusion and then he watched as the man was pulled away from him. He could feel someone’s arms wrapping around him and the warmth of someone’s familiar presence, as words were whispered into his ear, “I’ve got you now, Isa.”

 

But for a moment, all Isa could focus on was Terra sinking into darkness, and red eyes that shone directly upon him with its piercing gaze. The blue-haired man felt paralyzed by the glare, and it was only by the insistent tug of the person who had grabbed onto him that he escaped at all.

 

…

 

Isa’s eyes snapped open and he could see two people standing over him – one of them was a red-haired man and the other was a younger brunette. He could see the relieved look on Lea’s face as he sat up and there needn’t be any words exchanged as the man suddenly embraced him tightly. Isa could only smile slightly, and pat Lea’s back. He said, “You’re acting as if I were in any danger of being lost forever.”

 

Lea pulled back. “Yeah, kind of. I was worried, alright?”

 

Isa’s expression softened at that and he reached to lightly touch the red head’s cheek. “It’s appreciated, Lea.”

 

Sora then began to edge towards the door, saying, “I’ll just…leave you two to it. If you need me, give me a call!”

 

Then he was out, much to the amusement of the other two. Lea then looked back at Isa, but before he could say anything the bluenette kissed him on his nose with a small smile. This caused the red head to just look like his mouth was hung open because he was just about to say something but got surprised. This made Isa snort, naturally. “If you keep your mouth open, something might fly in.”

 

“Ha ha, very funny. But no, seriously, I’m glad I was able to wake you up. Maybe we should make up for lost time.”

 

Isa tried not to look amused, but he asked, “Doing what, exactly?”

 

Lea smirked and said, “Going on a date.”

 

For some reason that made the color rise to Isa’s cheeks. But he scoffed and said, “You’re trying too hard to be a romantic.”

 

“Talk about cold! But no, trust me, I’ve got something planned and it’d be sometime…tomorrow night. Let’s say, 8 o’ clock.”

 

Isa raised a brow and he asked, “Should I be worried? Whenever you plan something it’s bound to go wrong.”

 

Lea made a face at him and then Isa laughed. He actually _laughed_. “… I was just kidding. I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Isa continues at the shocked look on his lover’s face, and says, “And I’m sure I’ll like it.”

 

At that Lea could only smile himself, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, I’m sure you will.”

 

Once they were done messing around, Isa made a note to tell him about Terra as well. He couldn’t let the image of what had happened truly disappear from his head, after all.

 

After a round of talking to each other, telling the others about Isa's successful recovery and having dinner, the two retired to their room.

 

…

 

Isa’s eyes snapped open and he saw that he was back in his room. Lea happened to not be present and it was morning – he assumed he must’ve fallen asleep by the time they had returned. He sleepily called out Lea’s name as well as checked the bathroom, but the man wasn’t present. Well, it wasn’t like Lea could be expected to always stick around to him 24/7…

 

The blue-haired man pauses at that thought when he feels a sense of Déjà vu.

 

Isa quickly grabs some clothing, slips them on and hurries out of his room. He hurried down the castle hall, and this time he didn’t even need to get any further than that to catch sight of Lea. He saw the red head and a certain blond in a black coat talking animatedly. He felt his chest squeeze painfully, his mind rehashing what he had witnessed in the darkness – and he felt his mind blank for a moment.

 

He fought against it, of course. But when he came to, he no longer was in the castle.

 

He noticed a portal had just dispersed around him and he stood in a certain castle’s room, surrounding by chairs. He felt fear took a hold of him and he suddenly heard a deep voice beside him, “Welcome back, Saix.”

 

It was then the blue-haired man noticed that his hand was firmly grasped within The Superior’s hand and he moved to try to remove his own from him. Did the man come himself?

 

Xemnas said, “It is ironic that your allies hardly noticed someone taking you off of their protected premises. Then again, you did not put up any resistance towards Xigbar’s effort to abduct you. It is natural they would not notice.”

 

Isa fell silent at this moment, and it was at this time that he noticed that there were once again only a few individuals present in the room. It seemed to be just him, Xigbar, another iteration of Xehanort, and Xemnas. They were also talking, but their voices faded into nondistinctive mumbles as emotions within him began to rise, and then at this moment, he heard Xemnas say, “Saix, you must remember you have a true purpose to serve in our Organization; more than what they can ever give to you.”

                                   

Still, the scarred man said nothing, though he looked up and he heard the voices still when they took notice of the blue irises (that were tinted with green) were clearly visible. Xemnas, who had now decided to take his place back on his coveted chair upon a very quick teleportation spell, narrowed his eyes at the display. Xigbar, on the other hand, just scoffed and teleported down nearby the silent man. He failed to notice Isa’s hands clenching into fists. “You gotta know you’re—”

 

Isa’s hand had snatched around the other male’s neck, effectively and swiftly cutting off his airflow. The man’s eyes glowed an angry yellow, as he growled low in his throat – a very obvious indication that he had just entered into Berserker Mode.

 

…

 

Lea slammed his fist down on the table. “What do you mean he’s not on the world anymore?!”

 

Leon had told him the results of their search for Isa netted them nothing. The red head was ashamed to not even notice that the blue-haired man had left – and he was doubly frustrated with himself. He hadn’t even been that far away from the room, and then all of this crap managed to happen. Figures, just when they had figured out a way to restore Xion and Roxas, something _had_ to have gone wrong. He ignored the worried looks from his friends right now because of how frustrated he was.

 

He could feel like he was about to explode. He and Isa had just managed to set things right – as much as they could so far anyway – and he couldn’t help the tremendous amount of emotions assailing him right now. A hand lightly was put on his shoulder and a younger voice said, “Hey.”

 

Lea looked at Roxas, who gave him a reassuring smile, before he looked over at the rest of the Restoration Committee. The blond asked, “Why don’t we go on a search for him?”

 

Merlin then said, “While I’m sure the idea is all well and good, we’d need to have a good amount of people prepared, and I have a feeling that where your friend is might require more firepower than we can expend at the moment. According to, ahem, Yen Sid, we also still need to find Terra.

 

If anything, we should wait until Terra is found before looking for him.”

 

The red head’s expression scrunched up at that. Then he suddenly rose out of his seat with so much force, he knocked the chair he was sitting in to the ground and he was out of the room before anyone could say anything. Roxas and Xion rushed after him.

 

Ventus stood up and rushed out of the room as well, prompting Aqua to smile sheepishly and say, “I’m sorry.”

 

Then she exited the room as well. Leon sighed, putting a hand to his forehead, saying, “What a pain.”

 

Sora smiled sheepishly, and Donald said, “Don’t even think about it! They haven’t gone over the mission they were going to give us yet!”

 

The brunette then pouted as he replied, “Alright, alright, jeez.”

 

The truth was the only reason Sora didn’t push to go was that he had faith in the others that had gone with Lea.

 

Meanwhile, Riku shook his head and Kairi wasn’t able to stifle any giggling. Some things never changed.

 

…

 

Lea already began to stride out of the Castle’s walls, before the other four caught up to him. Xion asked, “Where are you going? You’re not going to try to search for him, are you?”

 

The red head rubbed the back of his head and replied, “I’m just going out for a walk.”

 

“Oh really?”

 

He heard another female voice and turned his head to spot Aqua, along with Ventus and Roxas looking at him like they knew better. Lea sighed to himself and said, “Look… I can’t just leave Isa hanging. I wasn’t a very good friend when I was a Nobody, alright? I left him behind and it fucked him up badly—I knew him since we were kids!

 

Shit, I know you’ve got your thing with Terra, but you guys probably tried your best to save him and all that. I … didn’t. I literally abandoned him! I was a complete asshole…and still he wanted to come back to me, even after everything I did to him!”

 

Lea’s voice cracked, and he could see some of the surprised looks on the others – Aqua’s expression seemed to be filled with understanding out of them all, however. He swallowed, and he knew what he was doing stupid, but he actually really did need time to himself. If only because the red head didn’t want to end up crying in front of the others; that’d be the worse thing to deal with.

 

He was off quickly and lost them with some quick maneuvering around the outside buildings. When he calmed down, he’d come crawling back and THEN hatch his probably-stupid plan of jumping through the worlds in an attempt to find Isa. It could be he was on The World That Never Was, but he might be sent through to the other worlds on missions, knowing how they had managed to encounter him before. Or rather, Riku.

 

Riku had managed to encounter the blue-haired man a lot for some reason.

 

A memory comes back to the red head as he wiped his eyes and then looked up at the sky that showed the colors of the afternoon.

 

_“Hey…Lea.”_

_“Yeah, Isa?”_

_“If we make it out of the castle alive, I’ve…got something to tell you.”_

_“What is it?”_

_Isa looked away, a small blush tinting his cheeks. “I’m not telling you **now**. That’d ruin the point.”_

_The red head pouted and replied, “And here I thought I’d be able to get you to tell me!”_

_The blue-haired boy rolled his eyes and then began to make his way inside said castle – this time, they managed to even slip by the guards. Then, he said, “Not a chance, loser.”_

_“Hey!”_

Lea smiled to himself and figured he had enough time to shake it off before heading back to the others. When he did make it back to the front of the castle, he found the others waiting for him – and he blinked twice. “… Really, guys?”

 

Roxas said, “Yeah, duh. We weren’t just going to go off elsewhere.”

 

The black-haired Keyblade Wielder of the group added, “And if you took too long we were going to organize a search party.”

 

The red head nearly felt a face palm coming on. Then, Ventus asked, “So, where to?”

 

At that, Lea allowed himself a smirk of sorts and said, “Well…”

 

…

 

A man in a black hood stepped out of a portal, and then he pulled it back to reveal his cascading, uneven blue hair. His surroundings consisted of a jungle, though he wasn’t alone—there were a certain group of people making their way through the area as well. Said group halted when the man purposefully stepped on a twig to alert them of his presence.

 

_I wonder if it will be easier…  
If I were to run somewhere far away._

 

Lea was one of the first to turn, and when he spotted who was responsible for that noise, he ran forward to the other man, unabashedly tugging him into an embrace. He didn't even take notice of the brief surprised look he received. He said, “You had me worried! As worried as I can get, anyway. Where the hell were you?!”

 

The red head looked at the other man, expression holding one of expectancy.

  
_There's no way it should be,_  
_Because no matter where I am, I'm still **me**._

 

Golden eyes stared at Lea as if the red head's complaints were as insignificant as child’s bad-mannered tantrum. Then, Saix smirked at him and replied, “Handling matters beyond your comprehension.”

**Author's Note:**

> All's well that ends well, right?


End file.
